PHOTOGRAPHS have emerged of party-goers dancing with a dead mammal at a student accommodation complex in Cork.

Independent.ie is also aware of a video which shows the mammal being thrown out a window of the apartment.

It is understood the dead mammal was brought into the complex to a party on Wednesday night.

Animal welfare officials initially believed the animal was a small dolphin, however it is now believed it is a harbour porpoise, a small marine mammal similar to a dolphin.

Photos showing the mammal at the party (Photo: Independent.ie)Photos showing dolphin at the party (Photo: Independent.ie)

Photographs have emerged of the mammal lying on its side next to a wall, with others showing two young males dancing with the carcass in the kitchen area of an apartment.

One young man is holding the mammal over his shoulder, while the other young man can be seen photographing the incident on his phone.

The images appeared on the social media app Snapchat, where photos only appear for a maximum of 24 hours.

The incident occurred at the Parchment Square Student Accommodation complex on the Model Farm Road, Cork.

The accommodation is the closest complex to CIT and each apartment can house up to five people.

It is understood the two young men involved in the incident are not students at CIT.

A source told Independent.ie the two young men travelled from west Cork to the party near the CIT campus, and brought the mammal's carcass into the student accommodation complex. It is not known how they came to be in possession of the carcass.

An employee at the complex discovered the carcass on the grass outside one of the apartments the morning after the party. The mammal was removed and brought to UCC for a post-mortem.

CIT Students’ Union President Shane Falvey said he was unaware of the incident, but confirmed that the student accommodation was not officially part of the college and is completely independent.

A spokesperson for the Cork Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals condemned the actions of the young men and described them as "idiots".

"The mind boggles with people's stupidity," the spokesperson said.

"Anybody with any level of cop-on would know it's not right.

"They'll think twice before they do something like this again."

Gardaí confirmed to Independent.ie that they were not aware of the situation.

Meanwhile, Parchment Square Student Accommodation refused to comment on the situation, despite being given multiple opportunities by phone and email from Independent.ie.